Hand pumps have existed for manual operation in the inflation of various items. Such items include recreational products, but hand pumps have also been used for other purposes such as on tires for automotive vehicles. More commonly, however, hand pumps are used to inflate the tires of bicycles, pneumatic balls and other such recreational items.
Some hand pumps are relatively small and are adapted to be held in one hand and operated with another by reciprocally moving, telescoping or axially aligned components to compress air within a cylinder which is transferred from the cylinder into a valve stem or sealed hole in the article being inflated. Hand operated floor pumps are also well known and typically are larger than the hand held pumps. The hand operated floor pumps are adapted to be placed on a supporting surface and can be held in place with the operator's foot which engages an anchor or pedal on the lower end of the pump.
Hand operated floor pumps typically include an elongated cylindrical barrel having a piston rod with a handle at one end so that the piston rod can be reciprocated relative to the barrel to compress air on alternating strokes. The compressed air can be forced out of an opening in the barrel, which is typically in communication with a flexible hose having a valve head on its terminal end. Valve heads take numerous forms, but are adapted to be connected to valve stems or needles for insertion into sealed openings in pneumatic balls or the like so that the compressed air can be transferred into the article being inflated.
One problem with hand operated floor pumps is that they are not designed for outdoor, public use. Such uses can subject the pump to degradation due to elements, theft and/or tampering. Elements can affect pump performance, such as by seeping into a pump and effecting the performance of internal components. Often, pumps can be carried away and stolen. Pumps can be tampered with, such as via disassembly and/or abuse such as bending. In order to improve public access to pumps, costs should be held to levels that are acceptable to municipalities, such as through the cost reduction of parts, manufacturing, and/or assemblies. Because modern users desire pressure control beyond that which can be sensed by hand such as by pressing on a tire, a pump should allow for precise control of pressure.